Battered by nor’wester, Rs 1 cr indoor stadium in Odisha in a shambles due to govt apathy

Jeypore: Built with an expenditure of over Rs 1 crore, the Indoor Stadium at Jeypore in Koraput district is in a state of decay due to the alleged apathy of State government leading to resentment among sportspersons of the tribal-dominated region.

According to sources, the roof and major portion of walls of the stadium suffered extensive damages during nor’wester on May 17. Following the incident, hundreds of athletes who used to practise table tennis, badminton and other games had to stop training at the stadium.

Meanwhile, even if one and half months have elapsed since the incident, the State government is yet to undertake any repair work at the stadium leading to the decay of infrastructure and German Badminton court mat worth lakhs of rupees.

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Narrating about the state of affairs, badminton player Gaurishankar Patnaik said, “Around 150 persons used to train in the stadium, but after the nor’wester incident, it is in a dilapidated state. However, the authorities are indifferent.”

Asked about it, Secretary of Jeypore Sub-Divisional Sports Society Rabi Naik said, “The higher-ups were immediately apprised about the damages incurred during the storm and they had also taken stock of the matter.”

Built with a cost of over Rs 1 crore, the Jepoyre Indoor Stadium was inaugurated in 2014 but it stayed out of bounds for usage until the then Sub-Collector of Jeypore Chakrabarti Singh Rathore took up activities to revamp the stadium in 2017.

The charge of management of the Stadium was assigned to Jeypore Sub-Divisional Sports Society. It was decided that member trainees and players using the stadium would pay Rs 200 per month for the infrastructural maintenance of the Stadium.

But now as the management authorities seek allocation of funds from the district administration to undertake the repair works, Jeypore Sachhetan Nagarik Committee has questioned the move.

Vice-President of Jeypore Sachhetan Nagarik Committee Kanta Padhi said, “The Jeypore Sub-Divisional Sports Society should release the funds that it has collected from the members. Jeypore Municipality should also allocate some funds so that the Stadium can be mended as soon as possible.”

On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of Jeypore Municipality Gopinath Saraka informed that the budget expenditure to repair the Indoor Stadium has been fixed.

“I had visited the Stadium after receiving the damage reports. The estimate to repair the Stadium has already been approved and after the tender process is over, repair works will be undertaken,” said Saraka.

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